“I can tell you that just by the crowd that's here today, I've built a record of service that no one can deny,” said Florez.
State Senate District 16 includes portions of
“Name recognition is going to be everything here because it's too short a time for someone to get known and get elected,” said Don Larson, CBS47’s political analyst.
According to the
“It's a sprint, but it's not a hundred yard dash, it's probably more like a 400 high hurdle,” said Vidak.
Vidak said by telephone that unlike Florez, he pondered the decision to run. But support from the community won him over.
“We want to turn the state around. We'd like to get jobs for everyone in this district and that's what it's all about,” said Vidak.
Vidak is against high speed rail; Florez was on the high speed rail committee for nine years. If elected, Florez jokes about taking advice from her son, Dean Florez, who previously held the seat.
“He wants to give advice I'll be glad to listen to it, but that's about all I can do. You're kids don't tell you what to do,” she said with a chuckle.
The deadline to enter the race is March 29th. Election Day is May 21st. The special election was forced by Michael Rubio who vacated the seat last month.